When asked how he was feeling, Jackson Jr. replied he feels "great" and that he was happy to be with his wife and children.

"It's been an extraordinary journey," Jackson said. "I've made mistakes.And I'm prayerful and hopeful that we're a country of second chances.That the American people and the people of the City of Chicago will consider me for a second chance."

The elder Jackson told reporters it was "a great morning" as he left a nearby hotel earlier in the morning to meet his son.

"But a halfway house means he's half way [home]," said Jackson. "I won't be satisfied until he's totally free."

Jackson Jr. was sentenced as part of a plea deal with federal investigators. He took a medical leave of absence from the House of Representatives during the summer of 2012 and initially checked into an Arizona substance abuse clinic before spending three months at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he was diagnosed with bipolar depression.